Almost Got Us
by Agent Frostbite
Summary: What starts out as a simple day out on the town turns into a daring chase between Decepticons and two teenagers. It seems like an easy task for the would-be kidnappers. The only problem is that the 'Cons have no idea how fearless their targets are.
1. Chapter 1

Annabelle Lennox, a bright 13 year old, walked down the wide but crowded streets of Malibu, California. The slight breeze coming from the west blew her shoulder length amber hair behind her. Beside her, Ekaterina Stark, her closest friend for the last year, chuckled.

"Who knew breezes could be so warm?" Ekaterina joked. The blonde haired, blue eyed girl hadn't gotten a great start in life, but there was no way you'd be able to tell by simply looking at her. The teen, who was the same age as Annabelle, if a month or so older, still retained a slight Russian accent, which would've been the first clue.

The second was that she looked nothing like either Tony or Pepper, her adoptive parents. They shared no common physical features, but in personality, you wouldn't have been able to tell that she was ever anyone else's daughter.

The third was the small square stamped behind the teen's left ear. The mark of a Russian (KGB?) assassin program that had been rebooted and was currently being shut down piece by piece by _the_ Black Widow herself. The Russian girl never showed any signs of ever having been trained to be a heartless assassin, though.

"Um, just everyone who lives somewhere that isn't a frozen wasteland," Annabelle joked back. They both chuckled and kept walking. Annabelle threw a glance over her shoulder to check for anyone who might be following them.

"Anna, you're so paranoid," Ekaterina pointed out. "Even I don't look back that often."

"It's not like I've looked back two dozen times in ten minutes, Kate," Anna argued. "Besides, I can't shake the feeling we're being followed." Kate stopped at the corner and cast a glance around the corner and the street beyond while Anna looked behind them. Neither girl saw anyone that attracted their immediate attention.

They walked for another half a block without shaking the feeling before they stopped to take another look. Anna saw him first, and grabbed Kate's arm. "Kate, I just saw him." Her friend turned to her, then followed her gaze to a police car across the street. The engine was idling, and the cop inside was staring straight ahead.

To Anna's absolute surprise, her friend neither relaxed, nor walked over. She began dragging Anna with her as the two darted into a shop. They wandered to the back of the clothes shop, hiding behind a rack of heavy coats. Like anyone here even needed heavy coats, but Anna didn't care. Cover was cover, no matter how odd it was.

"Think he'll move off?" Kate asked, looking between the car and Anna. "Who is he?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it was the car that was stalking us?" Anna said, dialing her dad's number.

"110%," Kate replied. "So, he's a 'Con?" At Anna's shocked look, she replied with "Nikki - Frostbite, another Avenger - has a team, and they're all ex-Decepticons. I'm not a stranger to the whole 'Bot-'Con war going on here."

"Well, good. Makes my life easier," Anna said. "And that's Barricade. Not a nice guy, but then again, if you're working with the 'Cons, you're probably not nice."

"Barricade?" Kate asked. "Oh, man. He and Nikki have a feud." Of course they did. "I supposed it's too much to hope he won't recognize either of us?"

"Would he be following us if he hadn't?" Anna countered. "Can't get through to my dad. Barricade must be jamming us. You find an exit that doesn't involve the front door or setting off the fire alarm?"

"Yeah. And worse case scenario, we bust a window and climb out," Kate answered. "How far away do we have to get before you can make a phone call? Or me, for that matter?"

"I'd guess at least three blocks. That's gonna be way easier said than done," Anna stood and looked toward the side door Kate was referring to. The two girls left, staying low and hiding whenever they could, ignoring the strange looks being shot their way.

Once back on the street, they started heading southeast, Anna taking the lead and continuing to attempt to call her dad. "Let's head toward the base, get as far as we can, and I suggest you keep an eye open while I try calling for help," Anna advised. She'd learned well from her dad about how things needed to be done.

It was a couple blocks before she finally got through. She didn't even let her dad say hi before going. "Dad, we're in trouble. We're being shadowed by Barricade, headed toward the base. We're about two blocks from the Macy's, and-" she heard a crackle and stopped. "Dad?"

"On our way, Anna. Find somewhere nearby to hide and stay there for as long as possible, okay?" he answered, sounding concerned. Oh, if only he knew what kind of antics she did.

"Got it. I love you, Dad," she affirmed.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Stay safe," he echoed. She hung up and looked for somewhere to hide as another Decepticon came into view. A Vehicon, followed by another two. Scrap.

"Game plan?" Kate asked, a slight bit of worry tinting her voice as well. They could handle doing crazy stuff like taking down thugs and small HYDRA squads, but 20 foot tall aliens in a busy metropolis? That was a whole nother level of skill.

"We find somewhere to hide, fast." The three Vehicons shifted to their human holoforms, which got out of the cars. Three guys who all looked the same. She felt like she was just dropped in the middle of the Matrix. She looked the other way and saw Barricade had already shifted to holoform and was heading toward them. "I think run!"

The two girls darted through the streets, the four 'Cons right on their tail. Kate knew her way around town pretty well, so Anna followed her as she zipped around corners, ran across streets, darted in and out of various shops, malls, hotels, and apartments. Nothing shook the pursuing 'Cons.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, this is gonna be more than one chapter. Yes, I'm gonna try to update every couple days or so. Please lemme know what you think. Also, yes, despite Kate being Tony Stark's daughter, none of the (canon) Avengers are gonna be in this one, so this gets put under Transformers instead of crossovers. Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Should we start causing trouble?" Kate asked between breaths as they ran into another mall circuit. Anna smirked in reply. They darted into a shoe store. Only two of the 'Cons had been able to track them. Barricade and a Vehicon. Kate grabbed a box with a pair of high heels in it, and tossed one to Anna to use as a weapon.

The girls took aim and threw them as soon as the 'Cons rounded the corner of the aisle they were in. Barricade took it to the stomach, so he was shocked but not hurt. Kate had taken a gamble with hers and she threw it lower. The 'Con buckled when it hit him. The girls pushed past them, knocking the holoforms to the ground. They high fived as they ran back out.

The other two caught sight of them immediately and began chasing them. The two girls then ran into a clothing store, and the 'Cons mindlessly followed them. The girls shared a glance, nodded, and split up. Anna went left, grabbing a sweater as she walked toward the back and waited for one of them to find her. When he did, she wrapped it around him, trying his arms down. She knotted it and gave him a mocking salute as she strolled away while he struggled.

Kate grabbed a purse and used it to clobber the hapless trooper while he attempted to protect his face from the brutal assault. She dropped the purse, grabbed him by the shoulders, kneed him in the gut, then ran past him as he collapsed, holding his midsection while he recovered from the attack.

The two met up at the front. "What'd you do?" Kate asked.

"Tired his arms down with a sweater. You?" Anna answered, tilting her head toward her friend when asking the question.

"Kicked his aft. Poor sucker never knew what hit him," she replied.

"You mean, won't admit what hit him," Anna said with a smirk. The two laughed and actually _strolled_ out. Their confident attitude didn't last long, as Barricade and Faceless #1 had already found their way back out. The girls ran once more, looking for another place to ambush their pursuers. Kate spotted an escalator off in the distance and pointed to it.

Anna nodded and they put on a burst of speed, getting there long before the 'Cons - which now included the recently recovered Faceless #2 and #3 - did. They ran up the escalator, pushing past shoppers and apologizing. Anna spotted a scarf shop and waited till the 'Cons could see her before waving and running in. Kate had no choice but to follow. Not that she didn't want to, if the lopsided grin on Anna's face was any clue about what she was planning.

They got inside, and Anna grabbed a scarf. She waited till they came in to tackle Barricade, wrapping the scarf around his neck and trying to choke him. He struggled, and she kneed him in the back. Kate distracted one of them, swept his feet out from under him - which sent him sailing into Faceless #2 - #1? Whatever - and she smacked the remaining one in the nose.

Meanwhile, Anna's clever plan didn't go as well as she hoped. Barricade got a grip on the scarf, yanking it from her hands and throwing her off balance. He pulled his side arm - came with the uniform, lucky bastard - and fired. Anna ducked the shot and kicked the gun from his hands before landing a solid punch to the side of his face while praying the shot didn't hit Kate.

The girls looked at each other and ran out, leaning the shopkeeper in hysterics. God, people here were so dramatic. On the other hand, however, Anna was a little bit shaky after that whole mess. "We got too cocky," she said, thinking aloud.

"Agreed," Kate replied. They began looking for some kind of escape and found it in a set of stairs. They ran for the door, and the angry shouts behind them gave them a burst of speed. Kate arrived there first, throwing the door open long enough for Anna to get through, then slamming it closed. They leaned against it, holding it closed against the 'Cons outside, who were attempting to force their way in.

"Lock it!" Anna shouted, spurring another, much stronger, slam against the door, which they were barely keeping shut as it was.

"There isn't one!" Kate shouted back. "Who the heck builds a door without a lock?!"

"Move!" Anna pressed her hand against the door, and used her powers - she was a Vitae, meaning she had earth powers, which were extremely useful at the moment - to meld the metal. "Run." she ordered. The two girls began climbing the stairs as fast as they could, the loud _clangs_ of the 'Cons throwing themselves against the door fueling them.

The loud, metallic thud of the door breaking open, followed by heavy footsteps, only served to make them go faster. Anna looked down and saw they were three floors above the 'Cons, but the 'Cons were hauling aft and closing the distance with alarming speed. Kate grabbed her arm and began dragging her.

The two got to the roof and looked around. "Fire escape!" Anna shouted before booking it to the rusty metal structure on the other side of the building. Kate was right behind her, knowing the fact that they didn't have anything with which to booby trap the stairs would make things easier for their pursuers to find them and take them down or out.

Anna had started climbing down just as the door was thrown open. Barricade's angry snarl was visible, even from across the roof. "Hurry up!" Kate shouted to her friend, eager to get out of the line of fire of that gun, which Barricade was pulling out his holster again. Kate began climbing down as he fired his first shot.

Anna was scrambling down the old metal structure, running down the narrow steps and jumping down the last few, making the whole thing shake and creak. Kate followed her friend as close as was practical, leaving a couple stairs or a platform between the two so she could move without stopping.

The 'Cons got to the fire escape and began climbing down, not giving a moment's thought to the structural integrity of the narrow, rusty thing. The whole shook and creaked as the Vehicons clambered down as fast as they could, with Barricade bringing up the rear and looking over the edge, waiting for a shot.

The girls got to the bottom ladder, climbed down, and Kate tried her best to kick as many rungs out as possible in order to hamper the speed of the 'Cons who would come down after them. They hit the pavement and began to run again, dodging Barricade's gunshots.

Eventually, Barricade gave up the foot chase, and went back to car form, leaving the girls with only three men to dodge, for now. They ran around a corner, and almost smack into someone else.


	3. Chapter 3

Kate would've elbowed him in the gut or face if Anna hadn't reacted first. "Ironhide!" She sounded relieved, so Kate stood down.

"Are you alright?" Anna's father's guardian and 'uncle' asked, looking for any injuries. She nodded, and he looked at the three 'Cons in human form that had been chasing them. "Get behind me!" The girls complied, but Kate leaned down, putting a hand near her boot. Anna suspected she had a knife or something.

Ironhide was intimidating when he wasn't angry, but the weapons specialist was furious, which, thankfully, was enough to give the 'Cons pause. Hopefully, Kate wouldn't have to use that knife.

The rev of an engine behind the group drew Kate's attention. She turned around to see a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG parked with the window rolled down. The man inside had short black hair, brown eyes, and a scar running from his forehead to his ear. The 'Cons backed up, and somehow, Ironhide knew it wasn't because of him.

"Soundwave!" Kate exclaimed quietly. Anna and Ironhide turned around to look as well, and the spy waved them over frantically. "C'mon! Let's go!" She began to book it for the car. Anna and Ironhide ran behind her, shouting for her to stop. She turned around, figuring out why they were shouting. "Don't worry! He's on Nikki's team."

While she was explaining it to the two, Barricade had parked nearby and decided to try the holoform again. He drew his sidearm and aimed for the escaped Red Room member. Soundwave had seen this transpiring, and had gotten out of the car and ran for her. He grabbed her hand and dragged her just out of the line of fire as Barricade shot.

Kate stayed behind Soundwave - albeit seemingly reluctantly - and Anna stayed behind Ironhide. The two mechs stood in front of the girls, protecting them from any more shots Barricade or the Vehicons would take. The sound of a third car arriving - a sports car from the sound of the engine - sent the 'Cons fleeing. Barricade threw Kate a hard glare - which was duly returned - before catching up to the Vehicons.

The car was Jazz, not - as Kate suspected the 'Cons thought - Knock Out. Lennox ran over to Anna, who hugged him tightly. "I'm okay, Dad," she spoke first. "I'm okay." Lennox offered a grateful look to Ironhide, who smiled and nodded. He looked to Soundwave, who seemed defensive. 'Hide nodded, and Soundwave returned it, relaxing a bit.

Lennox looked over at Soundwave and Kate. Seeing he wasn't a threat, he nodded his thanks to the former 'Con, who offered the major a slight smile. "Wow. You shocked him silent," Kate remarked.

"He did not," Soundwave argued, turning to the teen, who offered him a lopsided smile.

"Did too," she retorted. He decided not to argue the point further. "That was kinda fun. I mean, once you look past all the 'coulda been caught' parts."

"Yeah," Anna agreed, finally breaking the embrace with her dad. "They almost got us." A smirk found its way to her face. "Almost." Soundwave closed his eyes, knowing that smirk too well. Soundwave gave Ironhide a 'Should I be concerned?' glance. 'Hide shrugged.

"But I think we'll wait before trying another adventure, right, girls?" Lennox asked. Well, it wasn't so much a question as a veiled command.

"Right," the girls replied, sharing a knowing look.


End file.
